Family Vacation
by Col3725
Summary: A series of King-Freedman-Warner family vacations
1. The Grand Canyon

_Enjoy :)_

* * *

Charlotte's sitting on the couch, her laptop open across her legs. She hears keys jiggle in the lock, so she turns her head just as the door opens. She smiles. "Hey, Mase, how was school?"

Mason pulls on his backpack and disappears up the steps, slamming the door slightly.

"Is he talkin' to you," she asks Cooper.

Cooper shakes his head. "He was silent the whole ride back from the school."

She sighs. "This has gotta be tough on 'im." She closes her laptop and sets it down on the couch cushion.

Cooper rests his hands on his wife's shoulders and rubs gently, squeezing her upper arms. He kisses the top of her head and smiles. "Hey, do you think you can take off a few days from work?"

"Depends why."

"Erica told me he wanted to go to the Grand Canyon for his ninth birthday, but everything was so crazy then that we didn't really celebrate it. He's off from school the week of his birthday, so I think we should go this year. It'll cheer him up, and it'll make his birthday a day he'll remember forever. Plus, it'll be good for us to take a family vacation."

She smiles. "I'll see what I can do." She pauses. "Run it by Mason, see what he thinks."

"That's the thing. I kinda want this to be a surprise."

"Coop, that's not a good idea. He's had enough surprises. I know it's been a year since his momma died, but it's better if you tell him what we're plannin'. I don't wanna spring this on 'im."

Cooper nods. "You should ask him."

"Me? Why me?"

Cooper shrugs. "He responds to you more. He always has, especially when he's in one of his moods."

She stands up and walks around the couch. "I'll ask him right now."

Cooper leans down and presses his lips against hers. He reaches his hand up and slowly moves it through her wavy tresses. He breaks the kiss and smiles. "You're worried about him."

She sighs. "Is it that obvious?"

Cooper slowly pulls her into a hug, wrapping his arms snuggly around her.

She lets out a breath against his chest and stands there in his arms for a couple minutes, letting the sound and feel of his beating heart calm her. She drops her arms and steps back. She blinks back a thin layer of tears and swallows. "I hate when he gets like this. To this day, it still kills me to see him hurtin' like this. No little kid should have to bury their parent."

"I'm glad he has you."

She smiles. "That means a lot."

He brushes his thumb across her flushed cheeks and lowers his head, his lips skimming against the bridge of her nose. "I love you."

"I love you too." She takes in a shaky breath and walks towards the staircase. She looks back at Cooper before heading up the steps and into her son's bedroom.

* * *

Charlotte knocks on Mason's bedroom door and lets herself in. She finds Mason sitting in his window, staring out over the ocean, his hand pressed against the glass. She walks over to him and sits by his feet. She smiles. "Whatcha lookin' at, sweetie?"

Mason shrugs. "The waves."

"You miss your momma?"

He nods, a small tear rolling down his cheek.

Her heart falls into her stomach and she feels herself tearing up. "Do you wanna go down to the beach? Skip rocks or somethin' in the ocean?"

He just shrugs, his eyes still glued to the window.

She nudges him. "Come on. It'll be fun."

He looks at her and smiles. "Ok." He gets up out of the window, jumping onto the floor.

"Put your bathin' suit on and meet me downstairs in the kitchen." She smiles and stands up. She messes up his hair and leaves the room.

* * *

Charlotte's standing behind Mason, holding his wrist. "Like this." She flicks his wrist and the stone he's holding flies out of his hand, skipping three times across the water.

Mason smiles. "That's cool."

"Now you try."

He grabs another stone from his pile and throws the stone. "Oops."

She laughs. "They can't be perfect all the time. Just try again." She hands him a stone and grabs one for herself. She flicks her wrist and lets go of the rock, it skidding across the water five times.

"You're really good at this, momma."

"I've had a lot of practice. I'm still a little rusty, haven't skipped a rock in years."

He attempts to skip three more stones and just throws the fourth one out of frustration. "I give up. I can't do this." He plops down in the sand and crosses his arms over his chest.

She sighs. "It takes some practice. Just relax and we can try again later." She pauses. "I wanna ask ya somethin', sweetie."

"If you can catch me." He hops up and takes off down the beach.

She takes off her sandals and chases after him. She tackles him to the sand carefully, and tickles him until he's begging her to stop.

He squirms and laughs. "Momma, stop." He's out breath and rolling from side to side, trying to dodge her hands.

She smiles and stops tickling him.

He catches his breath and continues to lie on his back in the sand.

"Can I ask you what I need to ask you now?"

"You caught me, so yeah."

She pulls him up to a sitting position and buries her toes in the sand. "Your birthday's comin' up, as you know, and your daddy and I were wonderin' if you wanted to go and check out the Grand Canyon."

His smile fades and tears gather in his eyes. He looks down at his feet and claws at the sand.

"Is that somethin' you might wanna do? We can have a pool party for all your friends at the house too."

He stays silent and closes his eyes.

"What's on your mind, sweetie?"

He shrugs.

"Mase, talk to me."

"My mom was supposed to take me."

"So you don't want to go with me and your daddy?"

He shrugs again.

"Tell ya what. You think about it and get back to me. How's that?"

He nods.

She smiles. "You wanna try skippin' rocks again?"

He nods. "Uh-huh." He stands up and walks down the beach to his pile of stones. He picks one up and takes a deep breath before flicking his wrist. The stone skips three times before sinking to the bottom. He squeals and jumps up and down. "Momma, I did it! I actually did it! Did you see it? Please tell me you saw that!"

She laughs. "I saw it."

"I skipped a rock!"

"Yeah you did." She hugs him and smiles wider. "You think you can do it again?"

He shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe." He grabs another stone and lets go of it. He karate chops the air, and jumps. "Take that. I'm unstoppable."

She messes up his hair and feels her phone vibrate in her pocket. She takes it out and looks down at the text message: _You cheered him up. Who needs the Grand Canyon?_ She turns her head and smiles at Cooper, who's watching them from the living room window. She looks back at Mason. "You hungry, Mase?"

He nods. "A little."

"Let's go back inside. We can skip rocks later. You and your daddy can have a competition to see who can skip a rock the farthest."

He smiles. "Ok." He pauses. "And momma?"

"Yeah?"

"I wanna go to the Grand Canyon for my birthday. My Nana talked about it a lot when I was little before she died. She showed me pictures and it looked really cool. I wish my mom was here to take me, or at least go with us, but I still really wanna go."

"When we get back, I'll take ya to your momma's grave, and you can show her the pictures and tell her all about it."

"Ok. I'd like that."

"Come on. Let's go inside and get a snack." She pauses. "Are you feelin' better?"

He nods.

"I'm glad." She drapes her arm around his shoulders and they walk back to the house.

* * *

Two weeks later, Charlotte's sitting at the island counter, sipping her coffee, both hands clasped around the porcelain mug. She's taking small, controlled sips, staring at the clock as it changes. There are three helium balloons tied to a chair at the kitchen table, blowing in the air-conditioning.

Cooper stumbles into the kitchen, looking like a zombie. "Coffee?"

She nods. "In the pot. You might need to warm it up a little in the microwave." Her voice is soft, barely above a whisper.

"What time's our flight?"

"6:10."

He glances at his watch and blinks. "So we have to leave in about forty-five minutes."

"Mmhmm. I'm gonna take a quick shower and then I'll get Mason up."

"How was he when you tucked him in last night?"

"I was in his room until midnight, so how do you think it went?"

He sighs. "That bad, huh?"

"He'd fall asleep and then wake up screaming about his momma."

"Maybe taking this trip isn't a good idea after all."

"He wants to go. He just wishes his momma was goin' with him. Once we get there, he'll be ok."

Mason walks into the kitchen, looking just like his dad, right down to the plaid pajama bottoms.

She turns her head and smiles. "Good mornin', sweetie. I was gonna wake you up, but you beat me to it."

"Morning, momma."

"How're you feelin' this mornin'?"

"I'm excited."

"You are?"

"Yep."

"Go get ready and then you can have some breakfast."

"You'll still take me to my mom's grave when we get back?"

"You bet, kiddo. We can go straight from the airport since we don't get in too late."

Mason smiles and disappears up the steps again.

Charlotte lets out a breath. "Well, that's a relief."

"I told you he wanted to go, Char. You were worrying for nothing."

She laughs. "We can pretend I was the one worryin'." She finishes her coffee and stands up. She walks over to the sink and puts the mug in the dishwasher. She gives Cooper a kiss on his lips and smiles. "I'll be in the shower if ya need me—please try not to need me." She leaves the kitchen and heads upstairs.

He pours himself a cup of coffee and sticks it in the microwave. He sets it for thirty seconds and leans back against the counter. He yawns and rubs his face. He's tired. It's way too early for him to be awake.

Mason comes back into the kitchen, dressed and with his hair combed.

"Looking sharp, son."

Mason heads into the pantry and grabs the Lucky Charms from the shelf. "Is momma in the shower?"

"She is."

"Can I sit with her on the plane?"

"Any reason?"

"No. I just wanna sit with her. You don't mind, do you, dad?"

"Not at all."

Mason yawns as he pours his cereal. "It's too early."

Cooper laughs. "That's exactly what I was thinking, Mase." He takes his coffee out of the microwave and blows on the hot liquid. He takes a sip and ends up burning his tongue anyway. "Ouch."

Mason bobs his head and almost falls asleep while eating his breakfast. He yawns again and blinks his eyes open.

"You can sleep on the plane. That's what I plan on doing. It's a short flight, though."

Mason nods and another yawn escape. "How does momma do this every morning?"

"She doesn't get up _this_ early, but if you do it enough, you get used to it. Oh, and coffee, lots and lots and lots of coffee—that's her secret."

Charlotte walks into the kitchen about ten minutes later, in a pair of jeans and a sweater, her hair with just a tiny bit of wave in it. "You clean up nice, Mase." She laughs and pats Cooper on the stomach. "Now it's your turn."

"You like my just-out-of-bed look, don't lie."

"Not if we're goin' out in public, so please shave that animal off your face. I like a little bit of facial hair, but you look like a sewer rat crawled on your face and died."

Mason laughs.

Cooper grunts and sets his coffee on the counter. He presses a kiss to her lips and then gives her a quick peck on the cheek. "It does not." He pouts and walks out of the kitchen.

"Don't dillydally, Coop. We've got a plane to catch."

"Yeah, yeah," he calls out to her before disappearing upstairs.

"Dad says I can sit next to you on the plane."

"Does he not want to sit next to me? I took a shower."

Mason giggles. "_I _want to sit next to you."

"Oh. So you were both fightin' over me. I like that better." She smiles and pops a few pieces of bread in the toaster. "You want some toast or eggs?"

"I'm good." Mason hops off the stool and puts his bowl in the dishwasher.

"Are you all packed?"

"Almost."

"Go finish. We're leaving soon."

Mason nods and goes upstairs to pack.

She finishes her breakfast and cleans up the kitchen a little.

Cooper walks down into the living room with the suitcases, putting them by the front door. "Everyone ready to go?"

Charlotte walks out of the kitchen and nods. "Do you have the boarding passes?"

"In my pocket."

"Don't lose 'em."

"They're safe and we can always print them at the airport."

Mason runs down the stairs and jumps off the bottom step, right through the gap between Charlotte and Cooper.

"Careful, sweetie."

Mason yawns. "Are we leaving?"

"Are you ready?"

"Yep. I got my Nintendo 3DS and my Ipod."

"Do you have to go to the bathroom before we leave?"

"I already went when I brushed my teeth, momma. Duh."

She laughs. "Then we're leavin'." She pauses. "You're almost ten, which means you get to carry you own suitcase."

Mason sighs. "Aw, man." He grabs his suitcase and pulls up the handle. "Let's go."

Cooper opens the door and they all file out of the house. He locks the door when Charlotte clears the doorway and follows his wife and son to the car.

* * *

Charlotte's standing at the edge of the canyon, watching the sun set. She takes a deep breath in and lets it out a slowly. She feels Cooper slide up beside her and hook his arm around her waist.

Cooper kisses the side of her head and smiles. "It's incredible, isn't it?"

She turns her head. "It is." She leans into him and blinks slowly. "It's beautiful." She looks over at Mason, who is taking full advantage of the birthday gift he got from his dad and momma.

"I can't wait to see the pictures he took."

"Me either." She pauses. "You think he had fun today?"

He nods. "He had a blast. That bicycle tour was tiring, but I know he loved it. He was smiling the entire time."

"I'm glad we did this." She pauses. "I still think Mason was more excited about sittin' in first class than he was about the actual Grand Canyon."

He laughs. "He did like that part, but what ten year-old kid wouldn't?"

Mason walks over to his parents and looks over the edge. "That's a long way down."

"Yeah, it is," Charlotte says, running her hand over the top of his head. "Was the Grand Canyon as cool as you thought it would be?"

"It was cooler."

"So you had fun?"

"Uh-huh."

"What's wrong, sweetie?"

"My mom would have loved it too."

She sighs and drapes her arm over his shoulders. "Well, you took plenty of pictures, so she'll get to see it through your eyes. That's even better than seein' it herself."

Mason wraps his arm around her and sighs. "Can we go back to the hotel? I wanna upload the pictures and pick the best ones to show my mom when we get home."

"I've got my fill of the Grand Canyon. Cooper?"

"I'm good if you two are good." He pauses. "Ice cream sundaes anyone?"

"I'm in," Mason says, a huge smile on his face.

"I could go for some ice cream too. It's hot." She takes a sip of her water and hands it to Mason. "You want the rest, kiddo?"

Mason finishes off the water and hands it back to her. "Thanks, momma."

"You're welcome." She pauses. "Let's go. I'm tired. That five mile bike ride did me in."

Mason nods. "My legs feel like jelly."

"Mine too," Cooper adds as they walks towards the parking lot.

* * *

On Friday afternoon, Mason's kneeling by his mother's grave, a stack of pictures in his hand.

Cooper and Charlotte are standing back, their arms hooked around each other's backs, watching their son.

Mason smiles. "Mom—dad, momma, and I went to the Grand Canyon for my birthday. They got me a new camera, so I was able to take a ton of pictures. Momma printed them for me. I hope you're paying attention 'cause there are a lot." He pauses and picks up the first picture. He laughs. "This is dad pretending to fall over the edge. Momma wasn't too happy about that, but it was hilarious." He puts the picture at the end of the pile and grabs the next one. "This is all three of us together. A random man took the picture for us. Dad didn't like him 'cause he flirted with momma."

Charlotte glares at Cooper. "He wasn't flirting with me, Coop. He was bein' nice."

"You call it being nice. I call it flirting. I know what I saw."

Mason shuffles the pictures and grabs another one. "This is me and momma after the bike tour. It was five miles around the rim of the canyon. It was really tiring, but it was fun. I learned a lot." He smiles. "I wish you coulda been there, mom." He sighs and shows her the next picture. "This is dad pretending to throw me over the edge. Momma said to pose, so he picked me up and held me over the edge a little. She wasn't happy about that either, but dad was just kidding. I was safe. He wasn't gonna drop me." He picks up another picture and laughs. "Momma took this one. I was really tired after the bike tour so I lied down on the ground." He finishes the stack of pictures and set them beside him. "I had a lot of fun. It was a pretty cool birthday. My friends from school are coming over tomorrow for a pool party. Momma said we could have pizza."

Charlotte sighs and leans into Cooper. She's on the verge of tears, listening to her son.

"I love you, mom, and I still miss you. I eat all my green beans like I promised. I wish you were here. The Grand Canyon was fun, but it would have been even more fun if you were there." He stands up and runs his hand over the top of his mother's grave. "I love so much, mommy," he whispers. He grabs the pictures off the ground and walks over to Charlotte and Cooper. "I'm ready to go."

"You sure?"

"Do you think my mom heard me?"

"I know she did, Mase, and I bet she's up there smilin' and tellin' all her friends that her son had a great time in Arizona."

"I forgot to show her my shirt."

"Go show it to her."

Mason goes back to the headstone and stretches out the T-shirt. "Mom, it says that I biked around the Grand Canyon. It has a picture of it and they even put my picture on it. It's pretty awesome. It's blue." He smiles. "Bye, mom." He walks back over to his parents and nods. "Ok, now I'm ready."

"Let's go home. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a nap." Charlotte messes up Mason's hair and they walk towards the car.

* * *

_Let me know what you think..._

**_A/N: _**Right_ now this is just a one-shot, but I would consider doing a series of one-shots focusing on the King-Freedman-Warner family vacations. Let me know and if you want me to continue, I'll also take location suggestions as well._


	2. The Bahamas

Charlotte's sitting on the couch, her computer in her lap. She hears footsteps behind her, so she turns her head. She smiles at Mason as he walks into the living room from the kitchen. She watches as his hand slips and the glass of milk he's carrying falls to the floor, shattering and splattering all over the wood floor. She closes her laptop and sets it beside her. She stands up and walks over to him. "It's ok, Mase." She kisses the top of his head and heads into the kitchen to get some paper towels. She carefully cleans up the broken glass and wipes up the spilled milk. "You alright, sweetie?"

Mason nods. "The glass was slippery."

"Be careful." She walks into the kitchen and comes back with a fresh glass of milk. "Here."

He takes the glass and walks over to the couch slowly. He sets the glass down and hops up, flipping on the TV. "Whatcha doing, momma?"

She walks around the couch and sits back down, picking up her laptop. "I'm tryin' to figure out what to do for the holidays this year." She pauses. "Your last day of school is Friday, so I might use some of my vacation days next week if we find somethin' we all wanna do together."

"What about a Cruise?"

"Hmm."

"One of my friends from school went on Cruise in October. He said it was pretty awesome."

"That's a possibility."

Cooper walks down the steps and kisses the top of each of their heads. "I didn't even know you were home, Char."

She turns her head and smiles. "You were asleep."

Cooper peers over her shoulder. "Ooh, Bahamas. Who's going to Atlantis?"

She shrugs. "Maybe us. Mason's winter break starts next week, so I was thinkin' 'bout takin' some vacation time."

"You, taking vacation time? Actual vacation time? Are you sick?" Cooper presses the back of his hand to her forehead. "You don't have a temperature."

She pushes his hand away. "I've taken time off of work before, Coop."

"As long as I've known you, you haven't taken a single day off. You just work longer hours or on the weekends to make up for the days you weren't at work. That hardly counts."

"No one asked you." She pauses. "If you're gonna be like that, you'll stay home and Mason and I will go on vacation."

Cooper swallows. "Sorry." He kisses the top of her head. "I vote for Atlantis."

Mason peers at the computer screen and looks at the website.

She hands him the computer. "Take a closer to look, Mase."

Mason flips through the pictures and smiles. "I think we should go here." He pauses. "Did you know that the waterslides go through a fish tank—with sharks?"

She laughs and messes up his hair. "I did." She pauses. "So are we agreein' on Atlantis?"

Mason and Cooper nod.

She takes her laptop back and checks the availability. She books it and shuts her laptop. "All set. We leave the 18th at 10 AM and come back the 23rd at 6:30 PM."

"Wait, that's it?"

She nods. "You book everything on the site."

"Oh, cool." Cooper walks into the kitchen and pours two cups of coffee. He adds cream and sugar, and carries the cups into the living room. He hands one to Charlotte and smiles. "I'm excited. It'll be a much needed vacation."

She nods. "Mmhmm." She sets her laptop on the side table and sips her coffee. _Paradise, here we come. _

Cooper sits on the couch beside her and props his feet up.

Mason hops off the couch and smiles. "I'm gonna go pack."

"But we're not leavin' for a week, sweetie."

"So?" Mason walks over to the steps and disappears upstairs.

She laughs and looks at Cooper. "That boy's excited."

"This boy's excited," Cooper jokes.

She nudges him and leans into his arm.

Cooper hooks his arm around her and kisses the side of her head. "Last week was tough."

She nods. "I know. My daddy's birthday never gets easier, so I can just imagine how it is for him."

Cooper sighs. "This vacation will do us all some good."

She smiles. "He'll have fun." She pauses. "We'll all have fun," she corrects.

"You want a brownie?"

She nods. "I'd love one. Thank you."

Cooper stands up and disappears into the kitchen again.

* * *

The following Wednesday, Charlotte's sitting on the plane, leaning back on the seat, asleep.

Mason's asleep too, curled up against her, a smile on his face.

Cooper glances over at his wife and son, and can't help but smile. He's a lucky guy.

"Can I get you another drink, sir?" The flight attendant asks, handing him a bag of pretzels.

He shakes his head. "No, thanks. I'm good." He opens his bag of pretzels and sucks the salt off of one.

Charlotte shifts and rubs her eyes open. She yawns and runs her fingers through Mason's hair as he sleeps. She turns her head and smiles. "We almost there?"

"We have about an hour left."

She takes off her seatbelt and carefully stands up. She disappears down the hallway and into the bathroom. She walks back to her seat and there's a little bag of pretzels on her tray table. "Thank you, Coop."

"I thought you might be hungry. You missed lunch."

She nods and settles back down. "I am."

Mason instantly leans against her again and lets out a long sigh.

She smiles and wraps her arm around him. She finishes her bag of pretzels and washes them down with a few sips from her water bottle. She leans back on the seat, closes her eyes, and relaxes for the rest of the flight.

* * *

It's around seven o'clock when Charlotte and Cooper check-in at the hotel. They step into the elevator and press the button for the fourth floor.

Mason squeals as he watches the numbers go up.

Charlotte laughs. "Excited, sweetie?"

He nods. "Uh-huh."

She messes up his hair and smiles. "We're just going to relax tonight, ok? We'll go out to dinner and maybe explore, but we'll save all the fun stuff for tomorrow."

He sighs. "Ok."

The doors open and they step into the hallway. "This way." She leads the way down towards their suite and slips the keycard into the slot. She opens the door and walks in.

Mason runs in and goes right to the balcony. He opens the glass doors and looks over the railing.

Charlotte walks out onto the porch and smiles. "Check out this view."

Cooper comes up behind her and hooks an arm around her waist. He presses a kiss to her temple and smiles. "I bet you can see everything in that water."

"Can we play with the dolphins, momma? And the stingrays?"

She nods. "We're doin' that on Friday."

"Yes!" Mason runs into the suite and jumps on his bed. "Ah."

She looks up at Cooper and just shakes her head.

Cooper laughs and they walk into the suite to get ready for dinner.

* * *

The next day, Charlotte's half asleep on the lounge chair by one of the pools, when she feels a tug on her arm. She peeks out of one eye and groans a little. "What is it, Mase?"

"Dad's too chicken to go on the slide with me. Can you come?"

"Um, I don't know, Mason."

"You're not scared, are you?"

She laughs. "No, sweetie, I'm not scared. I'm just not a big fan of wedgies."

"Please? Pretty please? Dad's a wuss and I don't wanna go by myself. Pleeeeeease?"

She sighs. "Fine. Which one?"

"All of them, but I wanna do Leap of Faith first. That's the really big one."

She gets up off the chair and pulls her hair back into a neater ponytail. "Before we go home, we're gettin' your daddy on that slide."

Mason laughs. "Let's go." He runs off towards the slide.

"No runnin', Mason." She catches up to him and they walk towards the slide.

Cooper gets out of the pool and follows them, watching from a distance.

Mason and Charlotte gradually make their way to the front of the line. Mason gets closer to the slide and freezes.

She nudges him. "You ok, kiddo?"

He nods. "I didn't realize it was _this _high." He takes a deep breath and steps closer.

She rests her hand on his shoulder. "You wanna go back down?"

"No. I'm not a chicken." He sits down and crosses his ankles. He crisscrosses his arms across his chest and turns his head to look at Charlotte.

She offers him an encouraging smile. "You got this."

He nods and faces forward. He listens to the guy give the instructions and then scoots closer to the edge. He swallows and pushes off. "Wooooooo!"

She watches him fall and smiles. "He's gonna wanna do that again," she says to herself before getting into position. She waits for the ok and then pushes off.

Mason runs over to Cooper and jumps up and down. "You missed out, dad. That was awesome."

Charlotte pushes herself out of the pool and walks over to her boys.

"Was it totally awesome, momma?"

She nods. "The wedgie wasn't so fun, though."

"Dad, come on the tube one. That one isn't as high and it goes slower. You can ride with momma if you're too scared."

"Come on, Coop."

Cooper nods. "Alright." He gives Charlotte a kiss on the cheek. "I'll ride with you."

She smiles and they walk back over to the slides. "Hey, Mase, after this, you wanna race?"

Mason nods. "Yeah!"

She grabs a single tube and hands it to him. "Here."

"Thanks." He takes the tube and goes ahead to the steps.

She grabs another tube and looks at Cooper. She laughs. "You're a wuss."

"Hey!"

"You look like you're about to pass out, Coop." She walks towards the steps and stands behind Mason.

Cooper follows her and holds onto the railing.

She smiles. "Cooper."

Cooper waves her off. "I'm fine."

They make it up to the top and Mason sits down in his tube. He goes down first and then Charlotte and Cooper get situated on their tube. Cooper takes a deep breath and closes his eyes as they fall down the slide. They meet up with Mason in the glass tank. Cooper opens his eyes just as a shark swims above them. "How cool is this, Mason?"

"It's awesome!" Mason pauses. "Can we get a fish tank?"

"Maybe," Charlotte says, watching the fish swim by. A wave comes and pushes their tubes out of the tank. They get out of the pool and throw their tubes into the pile. "Ready to race?"

Mason nods. "I'm gonna win."

"We'll see 'bout that." She laughs and the two of them head back to the slides.

* * *

Charlotte's lying on the lounge chair by the pool, listening to Cooper and Mason play around in the pool. Her eyes are closed and she's letting the warm afternoon sun beat down on her soaked skin. She opens her eyes when she feels water dripping on her. "Hmm?"

"Mason has to go to the bathroom, so we're gonna walk over there and then go on the lazy river. You wanna come?"

"Maybe later. I'm comfortable."

Cooper smiles. "Ok." He motions for Mason to follow him and then they disappear towards the bathrooms.

Charlotte orders a strawberry daiquiri and relaxes again. She's not sure how much time passes, but when she opens her eyes, Mason's sitting on the lounge chair beside her, wrapped in a towel, shivering a little. She rubs her eyes and pushes herself up. "How was it?"

Mason turns his head. "You're awake."

She nods. "I must have dozed off." She pauses. "I'm hungry. You and your daddy eat yet?"

He shakes his head. "No. Dad said we should wait for you to wake up."

"Where is he anyway?"

"He went to the bathroom."

She stands up and steps into the pool. She goes under the water to cool off and walks back out. "That felt good." She dries off and sits down on the end of the chair, waiting for Cooper.

Cooper walks over to them. "Good, you're awake. I'm getting hungry."

She nods. "I'm starvin'." She pauses. "How was the Lazy River?"

"We went on The Current too. I wanna go again after lunch. You wanna go with me, momma?"

She smiles. "I'd like to check it out." She stands up and pulls on her shorts. She adjusts the straps on her bikini and slips into her sandals. "Let's go."

Cooper and Mason nod and they walk towards one of the outdoor eateries.

* * *

Later that night, Charlotte's drinking coffee on the balcony when Cooper joins her. "Mason's passed out."

She turns her head and smiles. "He'll sleep well tonight."

Cooper nods and sits down beside her. "He had a blast today."

"He'll have fun tomorrow too. He's lookin' forward to the dolphins." She takes a sip of her coffee and looks out over the ocean. "This view is beautiful, even at night."

He smiles. "Mmhmm." He pauses. "I can't wait to go on vacation when we have another kid."

She snaps her head towards him and furrows her brow. "You know somethin' I don't?"

He laughs. "No, but we are gonna have more kids, right?"

She shrugs. "We haven't really talked about that."

"Do you not want another kid?"

"Can we not talk about this right now?"

"We have to talk about it soon. You're not getting any younger and—."

She grunts.

"That came out wrong."

She stands up and walks into the bedroom.

"Charlotte."

She shakes her head and goes into the kitchen. She comes back into the bedroom and crawls into bed.

"You're not gonna talk to me?" He pauses. "I'm sorry I said that. I didn't mean it like that." He gets into bed and kisses her shoulder.

She jerks away. "You just called me old."

"No, I didn't. I meant it like, as you get older, the risks go up."

"Nice try." She pauses and rolls over to face him. "I'm not old."

He nods. "I know." He pauses. "Can we talk about the baby thing when we get home?"

She sighs. "Fine."

He kisses the top of her head. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She lets out a breath and drifts off to sleep.

He smiles and falls asleep shortly after her. They had a full day, so Mason isn't going to be the only one sleeping well tonight.

* * *

On Saturday, Charlotte, Cooper, and Mason take a boat out into the middle of the ocean. Charlotte glances over at her son and sighs. "You don't look so good, sweetie. Everythin' ok?"

Mason gets up and leans over the side of the boat. He clutches the railing and vomits into the water.

She walks over to him and rests her hand on his back. She rubs gently and sighs louder.

He straightens up and wobbles back to his seat. He closes his eyes and tilts his head back. He holds his stomach and swallows.

She gives him a lemon flavored hard candy and messes up his hair. "Just breathe, Mase." She untwists a water bottle and hands it to him.

"Momma," Mason whines.

She runs her fingers through his hair and rubs his shoulder.

"Charlotte, come check this out."

She turns her head to where Cooper's leaning over the side of the boat. She looks at Mason. "Just keep breathin', Mase. I'm gonna go check out what all the fuss is about over there."

He nods.

She walks over to Cooper and hooks her arm around him. "What?" She looks into the water and smiles. "That's a huge turtle." She takes out her camera and snaps a picture of it.

"Is Mason ok?"

She glances over at their son and nods. "He's ok." She pauses. "I wish he could enjoy this, but at least he'll have the pictures." She turns her head just as Mason leans back over the side of the boat. She hands Cooper the camera and separates from him. "Take pictures. I'm gonna make sure he's ok." She walks over to Mason and rubs his back. "You're ok, bud."

Mason swallows and groans. He coughs and stands up again. He sighs.

She pushes his hair out of his face and smiles. "You ok?"

He nods.

She helps him into the covered area of the boat and gets him settled on the couch. She wets a towel and brushes it across his forehead and cheeks. "Feel any better?"

He nods. "Uh-huh."

She smiles. "Just lie down in here for a little while. I'll tell the captain to turn around."

"I'm ok, momma."

"Rest for a bit and let me know if you wanna go back to the beach."

He nods.

She walks out onto the deck and goes over to Cooper. "Let's hope he takes a nap."

Cooper turns his head. "You can see everything out here."

She nods. "The water's super clear."

"Check out that shark."

They spend about twenty minutes looking and taking pictures before sharing lunch on the deck. "I'm glad we did this. Comin' on vacation, I mean. If only we could do it more often."

Cooper smiles. "I don't want to go home on Monday."

"It's nice here."

Cooper nods. "It's paradise."

Mason walks out of the cabin and rubs his eyes.

Charlotte turns her head and smiles. "Hey, sweetie. You feelin' any better?"

He nods. "Uh-huh." He walks over to the side of the boat and looks over. "Whoa."

She smiles. "Pretty cool, huh?"

He nods and watches the fish swim around.

"You up for some parasailin'?"

"You gonna do it with me?"

"Course." They switch boats and a guy helps them get hooked up. She looks over at Mason and smiles. "You ready?"

He nods. "You bet."

They push off the boat and are hoisted into the air. "You ok, Mason?"

He nods. "More than ok, momma. I feel like I'm flying."

She laughs. "You are flyin'." She waves at Cooper, who's watching them from the boat. "You havin' fun?"

He smiles. "So much better than being at home."

She nods. "I agree, kiddo." She pauses. "Whoa," she says, as they dip and their feet drag along the surface of the water.

After about ten minutes, they get lowered back onto the boat. "Dad, you have to go up." He pauses. "You can go up with momma. I'll watch."

Cooper sighs. "Ok, fine." He hands his son the camera and gets hooked up into the harness. He looks at Charlotte and smiles.

They push off and get hoisted up slowly. She takes a deep breath and presses her lips against his shortly after reaching their designated height. She pulls back and smiles.

Cooper laughs. "Now we can say we kissed over paradise."

She nods and swallows, not expecting the dip just yet.

They get lowered to the boat several minutes later and the guy helps them out of the harness. "Did you guys have fun today?"

She nods. "We did. Thank you." She sits down next to Mason and takes the camera. "Did you have fun, Mase?"

He smiles. "How many people can say they threw up in the middle of the ocean in the Bahamas?"

She laughs. "That's the right attitude to have." She messes up his hair and relaxes the rest of the way back to the shore.

* * *

On Monday night, Charlotte's sitting at the gate in the airport, rifling through a magazine. She sighs and glances at Mason, who's sitting next to her, engrossed in his dad's iPad.

Cooper walks over to her and hands her a water bottle and a small bag of Bugles. He sits down and smiles. "The plane's here."

She nods. "It's still rainin', so we won't be gettin' out of here anytime soon." She sighs. "Did you get my M&Ms?"

He shakes his head. "I knew I forgot something." He pauses. "I'll go get them."

"It's ok."

"You sure?"

She nods and opens up her bag of Bugles. She's been craving them for some reason.

"Hey, Mase, did you have fun?" He gets silence.

"Don't even try to get his attention. He's playing Temple Run."

He laughs. "Thanks for the warning."

She smiles.

"Did you have a good time?"

She nods. "Mmhmm. I have to admit I needed a break."

He nods. "I think we all did." He pauses. "You look good tan."

"Do I not look good when I'm not tan?"

He sighs. "You know what I mean."

She perks up and turns her head. She stands up and folds down the bag. "I'm just gonna go to the bathroom before we board." She hands him the bag and disappears over to the restrooms.

By 8:15, they're settled in their seats and the plane is making its way down the runway. By 8:35, they're in the sky and on their way home. It's going to be a long night.

* * *

_If there are any specific vacations you want to see them go on, let me know._

_I can also add in other characters in future chapters_

_Review! _


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